Means for illuminating and trimming paper



July 6, 1948. E. F. BOWEN MEANS FOR ILLUMINATING AND TRIMMING PAPER Filed April 28 1944 z z... z 0? .N..

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INVENTOR. fi ms: 1'. Ban m ATTOANEK Patented July 6, 1948 EA FORILLUMINATI ND BIMM R. ER

Everette F. Bowen, Cedar Rapids; Iowa, assignor' to Eastman Kodak C rm anyrltoqh ter N- no ation of N w J sey Application April 28, 1944; SeriaPNo; 533,123

This invention relates to-phot'ogr-aphio apparatus-and has particular relation to a trimming board suitable for use in dark rooms.

In the process of making photographic prints and-enlargements, unexposed sensitized paper is cut tasize in'the dark room. It is difficult to cutst-hispaper accurately because of thenecesnated by light from beneath the paper so that the edges-of the paper may be readily and quickly defined and the paper accurately and sharply out in the subdued or non-a'ctinic light of a dark room oreven in the light from the illuminating means used to illuminate the board.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved trimming board for trimming photographic paper.

.Anotherobjecthof the invention is to provide new and. improved means for gauging prints for cutting. I

. Qther and further featuresand objects of the invention will be more apparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of the accompanying. drawings and. following specifications, wherein a single exemplary embodiment of the invention is. disclosed, with the understanding, however, that such changes may be made therein, as fall: within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the'spirit of the invention.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a board constructed according to one embodiment of my invention with the view taken from the rear of the board. A portion of the cover for the lighting means has been broken away to illustrate the lighting means.

Figure 2 is a view in section of the board shown in Figure 1 taken from the front of the board just to the rear of the front edge thereof, and

Figure 3 is a view in section transversely of the board and taken at a point substantially at its midsection.

8 m (01- lee-44 Referring v to the drawings 2' In. practicing myinvention I provide a board or table constructed of plastic I or glass. whichwwii-ltransmit light. Thisboard may be a rectangle,

illustrated; at [0, with legs or pedestals l l on each corner,; or. the entire board may be moulded at onetime in: a; single unit. The surface of: the board is ruled or scored with lines l2=to i=ndicate one-half inch squaresor any other suitabledivisions. The verticallines are numbered from the right-hand edge of the' board, as'indicated at (3;; and also; astrip i l of plasticwhich is: part. of the plastic base, located at the top of the board, is. provided with numerals to indicate thespacine from the trimming edge of the board; The hori: zontal lines, may be used'toindicate the vertical dimensionsof the print. These lined and mime bored scales arepreferably illuminated by none actinic. light as will be hereinafter described.

I preferably provide a pair of transverseslots l6 and IT in the board: adapted "to. receive-adjustingebolts; Hit-and- [9,, and these bolts are provided :withrwing, nut-s21 and 22 for the purpose or clamping-a vertical strap or bar of opaque. plastic 23. the face of'the board. This vertical bar 23 maybe setgat any desired spacing from the trim-e. ming edge of the board so thatia print-may be cut to, any, desired size.

Th'e boardis provided with a trimming'kn ife 2-6:; .andtthisknife is secured to the upper righthandtedge of the trimming board by means of la bracket 21 and-the usual: hinge-structure illustrated'at 28;

' In: order to illuminate the board I provide means for. directing light into the edge of the board. Since. theL-board-is made of a transparentor translucent material, the light can readily pass through thewidth' of the board and enough light esoapesthrough. thesurface of the board to furnish anillumin-ated background on which the prints rest. This illumination is sufficient to illuminateland accentuate the scales so as to em able the operator to readily see lines on which to cut, but is not enough to cause any fogging of the paper.

A preferred means for directing light into the board is by means of the tube light 3|, shown at the left-hand end of the board. This tube light may be a fluorescent lamp or an incandescent type of lamp as desired, just so that the illumination therefrom is not so great as to fog the paper. Theluminous tube 3| is supported by means of clips at either end, such as that illustrated at 32.

I have not shown electrical connections for this tube, since any suitable conductors may be employed. Starters and the like may be housed either within the cover 33 or within the board itself.

The cover 33 is a U-shaped member, the ends of which are illustrated at 33l and are sufiiciently wide to permit the cover to be receivedin suitable grooves 34 and-'36-onth'e upper and lower edges of the board and this cover may be held in place either by friction or by means of screws as illustrated.

I preferably utilize pedestals at the corners of the board and therefore the portion of the cover 33 intermediate the ends is of decreased transverse dimensions so that it will tightly engage the upper and lower surfaces of the board.

This cap or end cover 33 is preferably opaque and can be constructed of plastic, sheet metal or the like as desired. The board itself is preferably made of colored material such as red, green or amber colored plastic, so as to subdue the light emanating from the board and render it nonactinic. The tint of the board should be of sufiicient density to sufiiciently subdue the light so that prints will not be fogged. The ruler strip or gauge 23 is of plastic and is preferably black or opaque. The knife isof course of metal and is also black. I

The contrast of colors and black and light colored members is not only pleasing and attractive, but is of considerable value in outlining the paper and outlining the various members of the cutting board.

Although I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, it is apparent that modifications thereof may be made by those skilled in the art. Such modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims. 1 1

I claim as my invention: a

1. In a trimmin device including a cutter, a cutting board of plastic material, a light source, supporting means for said light source on one edge of the said board, and an opaque cover disposed over the light source and engaged on the edge of the board.

2. In a device of the character described, a trimming board of plastic material, a trimming knife secured to one corner-of the board and adapted to engage one edge thereof, a cutting edge on the edge of the board against which the knife is operatively engaged, means for illuminating and projecting light into a smaller face of the board and means for shielding the said illuminating means to permit illumination of said smaller face only of the board.

3. In a trimming device, a light transmitting cutting board having a light-transmitting indicatin scale thereon and ,a source of light attached ata smaller-areaed surface of the board to project light therein, whereby said light will 4 pass into said board and scale to illuminate said scale from within.

4. In a trimming device, a light transmitting cutting board having an indicating scale thereon, a source of light arranged to be projected into a smaller face of said cutting board, whereby said light will pass into said board and illuminate said scale from within and means for shielding the said source of light to permit the passage of light only to the said smaller face of said cutting board.

5 In a trimmer, the combination With a body portion, trimming means arranged along one edge of said portion, of a scale member formed of light transmitting material positioned along another edge of said portion, and means for applying nonactinic light to illuminate said member.

6. In a trimmer, the combination with a body portion, trimming means arranged along one edge of said portion, of an elongated scale member formed of light transmitting material positioned along another edge of said portion, and means adapted to apply non-actinic light to said member for transmission therealong to illuminate said scale member.

7. In a trimmer, the combination with a body portion, trimming means arranged along one edge of said portion, of a scale member formed of light transmitting material positioned along another edge of said portion, and means for applying a non-actinic light to one end of said member for transmission therealong to illuminate said scale.

8. In a trimmer, the combination with a body portion, trimming means arranged along one edge of said portion, of a fiat elongated scale member formed of transparent material and positioned along another edge of said portion, and a nonactinic light source positioned at one end of said member for supplying non-actinic light to said member for transmission along said member to illuminate the latter.

EVERETTE F. BOWEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Ruth June 12, 1945 

